Ponce schemes — where's our statue?

Published: Thursday, April 4, 2013 at 3:38 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, April 7, 2013 at 3:37 p.m.

Celebrating this week's 500th anniversary of Juan Ponce de Leon's arrival in Florida, a statue of the explorer was unveiled at the parking lot of the Guana Tolomato Matanzas Estuarine Research Reserve in St. Johns County.

The bronze Spaniard is shown pointing westward, in the general direction of the nature trail. It's open for mountain bikes, is nicely shaded, and has nice places to sit and watch birds. I recommend it.

I suspect, however, the message is more metaphorical than "this way to the trailhead."

The statue and plaque join a line of statues, signage and claims stretching southward to Jupiter Inlet.

One thing we can tell you for sure: Ponce de Leon first set foot on the east coast of Florida somewhere north of Miami.

Yet somehow this doesn't feel enough.

It's disappointing enough to find that Ponce de Leon wasn't looking for the Fountain of Youth, that other people knew about Florida before him, and that nobody would follow up on his discoveries with any kind of a settlement for more than half a century. But not know where this happened? Unacceptable!

So the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and private donors obliged with this 6-foot statue atop a pedestal tall enough to be seen from State Road A1A.

A similar statue is in Punta Gorda, near where the explorer was fatally wounded by an arrow on his second expedition here. The natives seem to have understood early that being discovered was not working for them.

Both statues are reminiscent of another one near the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine in honor of St. Augustine's claim of being the spot where Ponce de Leon first waded ashore to Florida.

And yet another statue is set to go up shortly near Melbourne Beach marking – you guessed it — the spot where Ponce de Leon first came ashore to Florida.

Without getting too deep into the footnotes, all this is based on something a Spanish historian wrote almost 90 years after the fact, putting the place of landfall at somewhere near 30 degrees, 8 minutes, north latitude or a little north of St. Augustine.

But wait, navigation at the time was pretty crude and all the other coordinates in that account seem to be way off and too far north.

All of which begs the question: Where's our statue?

If nobody knows where Ponce de Leon landed and everywhere around us is trying to grab its own bit of history, shouldn't we at least try to stake our own claim?

It's not like we haven't made the effort. We renamed Mosquito Inlet as Ponce de Leon Inlet, and our early local historians made up excellent stories about the explorer exploring here. Plus, the naval historian Samuel Eliot Morison mentioned our inlet as a good landing place.

In the field of fake history, our claim seems legit. At least comparatively.

Looks like we missed a once-in-a-half-millennium promotional opportunity.

<p>Celebrating this week's 500th anniversary of Juan Ponce de Leon's arrival in Florida, a statue of the explorer was unveiled at the parking lot of the Guana Tolomato Matanzas Estuarine Research Reserve in St. Johns County. </p><p>The bronze Spaniard is shown pointing westward, in the general direction of the nature trail. It's open for mountain bikes, is nicely shaded, and has nice places to sit and watch birds. I recommend it. </p><p>I suspect, however, the message is more metaphorical than "this way to the trailhead." </p><p>The statue and plaque join a line of statues, signage and claims stretching southward to Jupiter Inlet. </p><p>One thing we can tell you for sure: Ponce de Leon first set foot on the east coast of Florida somewhere north of Miami. </p><p>Yet somehow this doesn't feel enough. </p><p>It's disappointing enough to find that Ponce de Leon wasn't looking for the Fountain of Youth, that other people knew about Florida before him, and that nobody would follow up on his discoveries with any kind of a settlement for more than half a century. But not know where this happened? Unacceptable! </p><p>So the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and private donors obliged with this 6-foot statue atop a pedestal tall enough to be seen from State Road A1A. </p><p>A similar statue is in Punta Gorda, near where the explorer was fatally wounded by an arrow on his second expedition here. The natives seem to have understood early that being discovered was not working for them. </p><p>Both statues are reminiscent of another one near the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine in honor of St. Augustine's claim of being the spot where Ponce de Leon first waded ashore to Florida. </p><p>And yet another statue is set to go up shortly near Melbourne Beach marking – you guessed it &mdash; the spot where Ponce de Leon first came ashore to Florida. </p><p>Without getting too deep into the footnotes, all this is based on something a Spanish historian wrote almost 90 years after the fact, putting the place of landfall at somewhere near 30 degrees, 8 minutes, north latitude or a little north of St. Augustine. </p><p>But wait, navigation at the time was pretty crude and all the other coordinates in that account seem to be way off and too far north. </p><p>All of which begs the question: Where's our statue? </p><p>If nobody knows where Ponce de Leon landed and everywhere around us is trying to grab its own bit of history, shouldn't we at least try to stake our own claim? </p><p>It's not like we haven't made the effort. We renamed Mosquito Inlet as Ponce de Leon Inlet, and our early local historians made up excellent stories about the explorer exploring here. Plus, the naval historian Samuel Eliot Morison mentioned our inlet as a good landing place. </p><p>In the field of fake history, our claim seems legit. At least comparatively. </p><p>Looks like we missed a once-in-a-half-millennium promotional opportunity.</p>